I read the Jafi because he will travel the dark hallways and bring things into light that need to be seen by muslims. It is a job better left to a jafi than a muslim because the muslim will deny, will resist, whereas the jafi will make the extra effort. I think that the Jafi is motivated by the same love of country and society that I am and so I do not hate him but I certainly would not want to ever meet him because I am pretty sure that since I am not "moderate" like a manji then he will never see me as anything other than a potential threat and that is sad really.

Anyway the jafi has an important link about some comments by an Abu Bakir Bashir released from prison in Indonesia which I think that need to be discussed:

Abu Bakr Bashir: The only model to follow is pure Islam. Because Islam in its original form was tough and hard, not weak and pliable. Islam is fixed, stable, ordered and disciplined, and so are Muslims.

If we return to the real practice of true Islam we would be much stronger and that is when the kafirs will fear us. That is why we need to uphold the Shariah and return to real Islam. But the West is trying to weaken Islam from outside and inside. They attack our people and invade our countries from outside, and they weaken us from within with ideas like secularism, liberalism and democracy. This is all designed to contaminate our pure Islam.

"our" pure Islam? this abu bakir bashir is much worse than a jafi, he is a snake. First he defames the Prophet by saying that he was a "radical". That is a smear! The Prophet was an idealist, a great humanitarian. This Bashir needs to cloak himself in authority and so he tries to claim the mantle of the Prophet which is also shirk I think.

and of course it is always about "return to practice of true islam" with these people. And what is true islam to him? aha, it is avoiding things like liberalism and dmeocracy! Someone show the idiot the fact that democracy gives Islamists like him political power look at Hamas and Hizbollah, they are smarter than he at least. He needs to claim that these ideas "contaminate" HIS "pure Islam" when actually these ideas are a reflection of pure Islam. It is people like Bashir who want to honor kill their women rather than recognize their power and freedom.

I also will say that Al Jazeerah is very important and does muslims a real service by putting people like bashir up for their idiocy for all to see. The Aardvark has discussed many times why Al Jazeerah is important and really follows the ideal of showing all sides so the audience can see for themselves. Always always does the idiots like Bashir come off as foolish in comparison. The Jafi surely hates Al Jazeerah for this but the simple truth is that Al Jazeerah is the Jafi's ally though he does not know it. I know my allies, I hope someday the Jafi will also.

Al Jazeerah invites comments by readers at yourviews@aljazeera.net and I emailed them:

First this Abu Bakir Bashir defames the Prophet by saying that he was a "radical". That is a smear! The Prophet was an idealist, a great humanitarian. This Bashir needs to cloak himself in authority and so he tries to claim the mantle of the Prophet which is also shirk I think.

and of course it is always about "return to practice of true islam" with these people. And what is true islam to him? aha, it is avoiding things like liberalism and dmeocracy! Someone show the idiot the fact that democracy gives Islamists like him political power look at Hamas and Hizbollah, they are smarter than he at least. He needs to claim that these ideas "contaminate" HIS "pure Islam" when actually these ideas are a reflection of pure Islam. It is people like Bashir who want to honor kill their women rather than recognize their power and freedom.

I think that Bashir wants power for himself rather than any true concern for the muslims. By whose hands do the muslims die in Iraq? by the same self-proclaimed champions of "true Islam" who kill children and innocent people lining up for work or to serve in police forces.